Old clip shows Michael van Gerwen as 18-year-old at the UK Open with wild hair

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    Darts fans far and wide could pick Michael van Gerwen out of a line-up with ease, but the same can't be said for his younger self.

    The three-time world champion has become well-known for his bald dome and lime-green attire, but he wasn't always quite so lacking up top. In fact, his spiky-haired 'do' was likely the envy of certain rivals on the Tour, looking like a different man to the one who's come to dominate at the oche over the past decade.

    One constant that remains is Van Gerwen's preference for bright green shirts, which were present even when he first joined the PDC in 2007. That's after footage of an 18-year-old 'Mighty Mike' started doing the rounds, leaving some supporters needing double takes to check it was the same man.

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    Ears in the darts world first started to prick up about a certain Dutch dynamo emerging when Van Gerwen made his BDO debut in 2005. That year, he became the youngest winner of a BDO ranking event when he won the Norway Open just a few months after his 16th birthday, going on to set a number of age records in the sport.

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    He made the jump to the more established PDC just two years later and told former Sky Sports presenter Dave Clark he transitioned because the organisation was "more professional" than his former employers. Though his English was evidently still a work in progress at the time, he even joked the BDO played with darts boards that swung on their hinges.

    The then-teenage talent was one of three Dutchmen in the draw for the 2007 UK Open, and it just so happened the other two—champion Raymond van Barneveld and runner-up Vincent van der Voort—made it to the final. Van Gerwen made it to the fifth round of the tournament before suffering an 11-7 loss to Colin Osborne, who went on to suffer a narrow 11-10 semi-final loss to 'The Dutch Destroyer' Van der Voort.

    Despite cleaning up in the lower leagues of the BDO and WDF, success didn't come quickly to Van Gerwen once he transitioned to the PDC. In fact, it wasn't until 2012 that he clinched his first premier title among the darts elite when he took that year's World Grand Prix crown.

    The rest has been history, however, as 'MVG' has gone on two sweep up just about every title in the rotation at one point or another. A figure many fans love to hate largely due to his rampant success in recent years, only 14-time world champion Phil Taylor has clinched more global crowns than Van Gerwen.

    If ever proof was required that the hair doesn't make the man, the 33-year-old's rampant form since losing his locks is testament to that. And after mopping up with titles in the Premier League, World Matchplay and Players Championship last year, Van Gerwen will be eager to keep adding to his trophy cabinet in 2023.

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